Despite Everything
by No Sweeter Song
Summary: A look into those weeks before Chris went back in time to the sisters.  If he doesn't save his brother, no one else will.


This is just a brief oneshot written for Charmed LAS. I don't remember what the prompt was, now, but I remember Chris' fears for Wyatt were the very first things I thought of and ran with it!

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"What do you think you're doing?"

The voice was snide but, unfortunately, not unfamiliar. Chris froze, feeling the chill go down his spine that always accompanied his brother almost catching him. Always almost. Never definitely. Because the day Wyatt caught him attempting to stop him from his murderous, evil ways? He was as good as dead on the spot.

Slowly, he turned around, his eyes studying Wyatt's. The question always remained: how much had he seen or heard? Bianca had warned him time and again to be more careful. But one could only be so careful when stopping your own brother. They shared a home, whether Wyatt wanted Chris there or not. He had to stay under the radar was all.

"Caught one of your cronies trying to get the book. Had to put it back before everyone went after it." Chris tried to sound confident, rather than shaky and terrified. It was sometimes impossible to believe they'd been born to the same parents. For one, the Hallwell brothers barely even looked alike, Wyatt taking on more of Leo's features while Chris looked much more like Piper. But their powers were shockingly varied as well. Oh, Chris was powerful, there was no denying that. It was in his blood, and he, too, was part witch and part whitelighter. But Wyatt seemed to make the world move around him, rather than the other way around. Time bent where Wyatt wanted it to. And so did life.

For all of his powers, Wyatt was neither a telepath or an empath, so he had no idea what Chris was really thinking. If he could just get to the time travel spell, he might be able to pull off his and Bianca's plan. But there were too many moments like this, almost caught, never being allowed to be alone with the book for long enough to find it. He knew it was only the Halliwell blood running through his veins that even allowed him to be close to the book. It sensed evil as its comfort now, and would ordinarily have leaped from his touch. Yet again, he desperately wished Aunt Paige had lived long enough to teach him just a little more.

Wyatt seemed to consider what Chris had said. For the most part, he listened to his younger brother, even if he never took his advice. The fact that Chris was still alive said something for the spark of humanity left in him. "Which one?" he questioned, sounding less than disturbed. Of course he would be. What did one pathetic minion matter to him?

Shrugging, Chris tried to sound nonchalant. "No idea. The tall one?"

"Idiot, half of them are tall."

Thank God. "I wasn't paying attention," Chris said easily enough. He was nearly homefree. "Saw them with the book, made a grab for it, he ran off. I was just putting it back in place."

Wyatt's light brown eyebrows raised. He raised his hand and before Chris could react, he found himself thrown into the wall. "Dammit, Wyatt, what the hell was that for?" he snapped. Not in a good-versus-evil sort of way. More in a 'stop touching my side of the car' way. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, narrowing light green eyes at his brother.

"You're my little brother," Wyatt said flatly, the corners of his lips curling in a smirk. "I'm supposed to punish you when you tell lies. No one's been up here except you all day." Chris' mouth opened to protest, but Wyatt continued. "I have everyone off on a mission. Some whitelighters are trying to stir up a revolution."

Lazily, he walked over to the Book of Shadows, lightly running a finger over it. "If you wanted to learn more magic, why didn't you just say so?"

Chris swallowed hard. Was he just messing with him? Or did he seriously want to help him? "Yeah?" he asked, trying to sound non-committal. No reason to give Wyatt anything extra against him.

"Sure," Wyatt replied. "We're brothers, after all. The legacy is ours to carry on."

It was. And Wyatt was doing it the wrong way. He probably only offered because he didn't feel Chris was a threat to him. But the fact that any part of him wanted to be a considerate older brother was enough to make Chris that much more determined. There was a good man somewhere in Wyatt, and Chris would do whatever he could to find it. No matter how awful he could be, he was still all Chris had left. He had to find the time travel spell if he was going to save his brother.


End file.
